Barrow Raiders’ hooker Aaron Smith affirms that his side can right the wrongs of the previous weeks by putting in a performance to be proud of against Sheffield Eagles this weekend.

The Raiders fell to a 22-2 defeat against Batley Bulldogs last Sunday, their third consecutive loss which leaves them second-from-bottom in the Betfred Championship.

Despite the result, Paul Crarey’s team would have taken plenty of positives from their performance at The Fox’s Biscuits Stadium, where they displayed real grit and determination to try and turn their fortunes around.

Smith, who featured from the bench in West Yorkshire last weekend, believes that his side are capable of picking up a much-needed two points this Sunday, saying: “We have just got to stick together. We need to focus on what we’re doing and put in a full 80-minute performance to be proud of.

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“We need to fix up a few things from the last few weeks and we’re confident we can get a result against Sheffield.”

The high-flying Eagles currently sit in 2nd place after picking up 11 wins from 15 fixtures, but they tasted their fourth defeat of the season in the previous round after losing 33-24 to Swinton Lions on home soil.

Despite being in his first season in Raiders colours, the 27-year-old is an experienced head in the dressing room and can draw from his time at the likes of St Helens and Leigh Leopards to help his team out of the rut they find themselves in.

With both teams looking to bounce back from losses, Smith is under no illusion of the threat posed by Mark Aston’s side this Sunday but asserts that the Raiders can cause an upset if the team can rally together.

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“⁠Sheffield will be looking to bounce back after that defeat but so are we,” he stated.

“We need to focus on what we need to do and not focus too much on anything outside of our camp.

“It’s important for us to stick together. We need to look forward and we need to start grinding out some wins to climb the ladder. We know what our group is capable of and we need to start showing that with our performances.”

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